"As expected, the pre-holiday season was less active than it was a year ago. We spent a little more on food, but Santa Claus was not as generous as a year ago," Žygimantas Mauricas, Nordea's chief analyst for Lithuania, told BNS.
Some retailers' expectations that sales would be stronger in December compared with the same month in 2011 did not materialize, as spending remained almost unchanged, with only food products showing a slight rise in sales, he said.
"The question is whether or not there is a trend toward a further decline in retail trade. Time will show. But the fact is that people did not open their wallets as wide as they did the previous year," the analyst said.
Lithuania's retail sales, not including car sales and repairs and food and beverage service providers, rose by 4.5 percent last year compared with 2011 to reach 26.513 billion litas (EUR 7.68b), not including VAT, the country's statistics office said on Monday.
In December compared with November, retail sales increased by 16.5 percent to 2.582 billion litas. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, however, retail sales were down by a monthly 0.1 percent.
Year-in-year, retail sales last month rose by 1.4 percent. The workday adjusted growth rate was 2.7 percent.
